Illinois Libraries Present: An Evening with Michelle Zauner
Join Illinois Libraries Present for an evening with musician and author Michelle Zauner in conversation with music critic Jessica Hopper. The pair will discuss Zauner's music career as the front man of Japanese Breakfast and her bestselling memoir, Crying in H Mart. The book chronicles Zauner's fraught relationship with her mother and with her Koreanness from childhood, through her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, and after her death. Full of music, grief, humor, and recipes, Crying in H Mart has already achieved beloved status among readers.
Michelle Zauner is best known as a singer and guitarist who creates dreamy, shoegaze-inspired indie pop under the name Japanese Breakfast. She has won acclaim from major music outlets around the world for releases like Psychopomp (2016) and Soft Sounds from Another Planet (2017). Critically acclaimed Jubilee (2021) was nominated for two Grammy awards. Crying in H Mart is her first book.
Jessica Hopper is a music critic, producer and author based in Chicago. In a career spanning more than twenty years, Hopper has earned acclaim as a provocative, fearless music journalist. She has written for, among others, GQ, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, Elle, and the Chicago Reader. She is the author of The First Collection of Criticism By A Living Female Rock Critic and co-founded Golden Teapot, a production company specializing in music and culture documentary work.
This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present, a statewide collaboration among public libraries offering high-quality events. Illinois Libraries Present is funded in part by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a Department of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).
Illinois Libraries Present is committed to inclusion and accessibility. To request accommodations, please email illinoislibrariespresent@gmail.com